A biography of Andrew Jackson has the opportunity to explore power, racism, masculinity, war, and other prominent themes from Jackson's life. This missed out on all of that. I felt like I learned absolutely nothing. It was way too long for the amount of information I gained from it. Meacham's outlook on Jackson's racism, the fact that he was an enslaver, and his initiation of a literal genocide is disappointing. He concedes that Jackson's actions were wrong, but his admonishment feels more like a slap on the wrist than an actual critique of Jackson's inhumane practices. He also, in my opinion, glosses over many of Jackson's violent tendencies. He mentions that Jackson killed someone in a duel, but barely talks about it. To me, the fact that the President of the United States killed someone, as well as his gruesome actions during his military career, feel like noteworthy points. Meacham has a fairly positive attitude toward Jackson, which I just totally cannot fathom. He is one of the most deplorable figures in all of history, in my opinion. This book was not overrun with flaws, however. The writing was fine, and it was actually interesting to learn about Jackson's family and his interactions with his contemporaries, especially the women in his life, although the way Meacham talked about Margaret Bayard Smith reeked of misogyny. I don't know much about Margaret Bayard Smith, but I am sure that she got enough gender discrimination in life, so if Meacham has actual criticisms of her, I would have rather seen him detail her flaws instead of painting her as a useless female stereotype. Whatever. This book was just a waste of time for me personally.